The first Yorkshire Federation 18 point AC doubles competition took place on Saturday 25/7/26 on York CC’s “nice flat lawns”.
It was ably organised and managed by former Yorkshire Federation Chairperson and longstanding committee member Huddersfield’s Anna Giraud.
She was assisted by a team of hard working volunteers from York CC who arrived very early to set up lawns, arrange seating, gazebos and refreshments in time for the arrival of the doubles teams from clubs across the federation.
The pairings came from Ben Rhydding, Bishop Monkton, Driffield, Pendle, Ryedale, Sheffield and York. “What a nice bunch of people” they were!
The teams could opt to play the traditional doubles with each person taking charge of their own ball or to play alternate strokes.
My partner Nick from Driffield and I opted to play traditionally in the first match. As it turned out we played so badly that as our opponents Debbie (York) and Jack (Bishop Monkton) played alternate hits we seemed to play alternate misses.
Jack thought that alternate strokes were great as “I made a mess and Debbie bailed us out”
Everyone enjoyed the games and other observations during the day were
“Alternate stoke double banked is a difficult game and shots should be timed” (probably due to discussion time)
“Thank God for bisques” and “ we needed more bisques “
There were some “ very close fought tussles” and “ cagey starts but unexpected wins”.
Congratulations to Debbie and Jack who were victorious at the end of the day winning all their 3 matches. “They played brilliantly “
Well done to Eileen and David ( Ben Rhydding), Helen and Nick (York) Lionel and John (York) Alan and Ian ( Ryedale and Driffield) Denise and Malcolm (York) David and Paul (Pendle) and of course my long suffering partner Graham (Driffield) who all made it a thoroughly enjoyable tournament.
By Maggie Crossland (Sheffield) Quotes from participants.
From left, Jack Upsall (Bishop Monkton and York), Anna Giraud (TM), Debbie James (York).
On 13th July, a sunny day with some welcome breeze, 7 players gathered at Ripon Spa croquet club to play for the Ted Flexman trophy, instituted this year in recognition of all that Ted had done for the Federation over many years
2 players came from Sheffield, 2 from Sheffield Parkhead and 3 from the home club, with handicaps ranging from 2 to 11. Play got under way at 9:30 and proceeded steadily through the day on courts which presented their challenges, not least of which was the speed.
The final game started just before 5pm, so tea and cakes were a little later than had been hoped.
Ki Hulme was the winner with 5 wins and 17 net hoops; Robert Mumford was the runner up with 4 wins and 8 net hoops.
Arlene Flexman presented the cup to Ki, but had to leave before giving the runner up trophy, the Ted Flexman claret jug, to Robert as he was still battling with Colin White.
I’m sure most of you by now will have seen the June 2026 online newsletter, and will have read the welcome note from Andy Dalby – Welch our CqE C.E.O.
In summary he discusses, the values and priorities of croquet today and moving forward.
He mentions the recent Northern tour of England making particular reference to how the priorities came to life when visiting these northern clubs in particular with reference to Driffield’s wheelchair croquet and a well being project run by Pendle and Craven club.
That’s not to say that similar projects are not run elsewhere, but these projects have been subject of a lot of communication between Alison Maugham and Andy in the last couple of years.
The northern tour commenced at Driffield club on Tuesday the 16th of June at about 1.30 pm.
So why did they choose Driffield as their starting point, simply because since September 2024 CqE have been supporting me as an individual develop playing croquet from a wheelchair. CqE found and moved a BowlsRoyce wheelchair from Peterborough to the Driffield club. My experiments with various manual wheelchairs having proved they were not suitable for the sport
After Alison and Andy had met with the U3A members who were playing GC, which is Alison’s speciality, they joined my wife Lesley and myself for a light lunch before meeting the club members, some photographs and the main purpose of the Tour-de-Yorkshire to find out at grass roots what was needed from CqE in terms of support and how to encourage the sport to grow. Asking for comments about what could be improved for grassroots croquet. Or how to change the perception of the sport. I believe Andy suggested is it necessary to always wear whites. Thinking perhaps of the changes to cricket through the short format games such as T20 or the hundred. Alison also demonstrated some tutoring aids to help in the variation of the sport we tend to play association croquet or AC as its commonly known.
It was after this as Lesley and I took on Alison and Andy for a game of GC that my travails in a wheelchair were placed in a true perspective for me. I’ve always been inspired by Lesley and always will be as she learnt to walk again following her injuries and partial paralysis. I shall also be inspired in the future by Andy. To watch a blind person playing croquet being supported by Alison giving him coded instructions to line the mallet up with his feet, and then directions by rattling the cricket ball that was used in his international matches, and finally advice on strength of shot to play [a scale of 1 to 10]. To be honest was quite humbling something I didn’t think was possible. Clearly and Alison were awesome and we lost 4 – 2 but it was truly great.
As we had a final cup of tea and chat, conversation got round to their digs for the night and it transpired that they would only be a short distance from the York club so with local knowledge and telephone contacts lists a spontaneous visit was arranged for the evening.
Tom Oulton continues the story at the York club.
York Croquet Club were thrilled to welcome Croquet England CEO Andy Dalby-Welsh and Head of Communications Alison Maugham to the club as part of their tour of croquet clubs across the North of England.
Lional Stock, Fiona Crompton and Tom Oulton enjoyed the opportunity to meet and have a knock about with them and to hear about their upcoming travels. Squeezed in to their busy itinerary, Andy and Alison took the time to meet members, join some play, and learn a little about our club and its activities. It was interesting to hear about the different approaches being taken at clubs around the region and the challenges and opportunities that many of us have in common.
Their visit was a welcome addition to the season and we appreciate them including us on their itinerary. We wish them well with the remainder of their Northern tour and look forward to hearing more about their travels in due course.
The following day the visit continued in Yorkshire at the Pendle and Craven club and Ian Longstaff takes up the story.
What a joy it was to host Andy Dalby-Welsh and Alison Maugham from “Head Office”!
Over the course of two and a half hours they met with our AC players who were down practising, and rubbed shoulders with Graham Read and his U3A group in their usual Wednesday afternoon slot. The two being separated by a lunch of “world famous” quiche from Earby’s Village Bakery, lovingly prepared by catering manager Gill Uglow.
The main reason for their visit however, was to meet in person with some of the participants from our ‘Croquet For Wellbeing’ project; to learn of their experiences in the group and of course, run a few hoops with them! That this NHS-backed project continues to make waves is one of our greatest joys at Pendle & Craven, and the fact that Croquet England are going to be making our template available to other clubs nationally, is a source of immense pride. Core team member Dave Hunt-Jackson, admitted to feeling. “Ahem… emotional!” and it appears that he was not on his own in that, judging by what Andy Dalby-Welsh said in a post the following day:
“It was a pleasure to meet the team, the participants and also James Smith, the social prescriber who took a leap of faith into the world of croquet. He couldn’t speak highly enough of the positive impact the well-being project is having. A new community has been formed in the surrounding area for people facing challenges including both mental and physical health, such as Parkinson’s, cancer and Alzheimer’s. It was an emotional experience to witness such a couple who were loving a game of croquet together, socialising with others and revelling in the cake that had been baked for eating at the end of the session! Croquet can give those people the opportunity to make friends, be active with loved ones and take pride in their community. Seeing the project in action and meeting some amazing individuals has only increased my commitment to developing this exceptional project in other parts of the country.” A truly memorable day for us all.
With that the Yorkshire part of the tour was completed.
Yesterday the 16th of June 2026 was an incredible day not just for the Driffield Lawn tennis and croquet Club, but also for me as an individual. Our small club in Driffield was the starting point for the Croquet England’s Tour-de-Yorkshire. Part of the research by Croquet England’s [CqE], new C.E.O. Andy Dalby-Welch and the communications officer and editor of the online croquet gazette Alison Maugham. Both of whom have represented England in sports. Andy a former blind England cricketer and Alison who is the current UK ladies golf croquet [GC] champion as well as representing England in International croquet competition.
So why did they choose Driffield as their starting point, simply because since September 2024 CqE have been supporting me as an individual develop playing croquet from a wheelchair. CqE found and moved a BowlsRoyce wheelchair from Peterborough to the Driffield club. My experiments with various manual wheelchairs having proved they were not suitable for the sport.
So to set the scene, at the club yesterday afternoon were some members of the U3A who play on Mondays 2pm till 4pm. Also the regular members who gather for a club session on Tuesdays 2pm till 4pm.
After Alison and Andy had met with the U3A members who were playing GC, which is Alison’s speciality, they joined my wife Lesley and myself for a light lunch before meeting the club members, some photographs and the main purpose of the Tour-de-Yorkshire to find out at grass roots what was needed from CqE in terms of support and how to encourage the sport to grow. Alison also demonstrated some tutoring aids to help in the variation of the sport we tend to play association croquet or AC as its commonly known.
It was after this as Lesley and I took on Alison and Andy for a game of GC that my travails in a wheelchair were placed in a true perspective for me. I’ve always been inspired by Lesley and always will be as she learnt to walk again following her injuries and partial paralysis. I shall also be inspired in the future by Andy. To watch a blind person playing croquet being supported by Alison giving him coded instructions to line the mallet up with his feet, and then directions by rattling the cricket ball that was used in his international matches, and finally advice on strength of shot to play [a scale of 1 to 10]. To be honest was quite humbling something I didn’t think was possible. Clearly Alison was awesome and we lost 4 – 2 but it was truly great.
After another cup of tea and more cake for Andy we presented them with two mugs with the club logo printed on them, and were delighted when Alison found out the club desire to become more open to a junior section, she presented us with 4 junior mallets which work perfectly with the club’s 9 ounce weight balls.
GC D level (10+) on 8th June 2026 Competing with peers This level of tournament was introduced last year by Croquet England to encourage more people, playing more croquet and is seen as a natural progression from club play, through friendly matches and Federation matches to an introduction to tournament play. The tournament attracted 7 players; 2 from Pendle and Craven; 4 from Ripon Spa and one from Sheffield Parkhead. The handicaps ranged from 10 to 14. After a series of downpours, play got under way by 9:30. The weather improved during the day to finish in bright sunshine. It was an all-play-all arrangement. The games were not timed to begin with so that there would be no extra pressure on players who might be in their first tournament. However, one match took 90 minutes, so some later matches were put on the clock and play finished rather later than planned an 16:50. A long day for all. At the end of round 5, there was a 3 way tie at 4 games each between Anne Marie from Sheffield Parkhead, returning from last year, Gill Uglow from Pendle and Katy Hill from Ripon Spa. Anne Marie won against Gill and, in the final round, beat Katy, to finish undefeated to win the tournament
YCF Short Croquet Team Event – Saturday 23rd May 2026
This year’s Short Croquet Team Event was again exceptionally well supported with a full complement of six teams and 24 players competing – York again managed to field an impressive three teams and were joined by teams from Huddersfield, Beverley and a joint team with players from Driffield & Sheffield. The spread of handicaps was almost at a maximum with one player having to do four peels before being able to peg out and, at the other end. several players with the assistance of ten bisques.
The forecast was for a bright, sunny day with temperatures that were warm but not too hot – ideal for an enjoyable day of competitive croquet. The lawns looked lush & green and had been immaculately prepared with neat diagonal stripes.
After four rounds of Short Croquet singles pitting each team against four of the other teams the joint team from Driffield & Sheffield, who were the strongest team based on their joint handicaps, were victorious with two wins and two draws from their four matches.
The individual trophy was won by Tom Oulton representing York 3, who won and pegged out both balls in all his games.
Many thanks to all at York Croquet Club for hosting this event and for all the hard work behind the scenes that made it such an enjoyable day for everyone.
We offer a number of croquet tournaments in Yorkshire every summer. For golf croquet players, the most challenging is the level play open singles. Ted Flexman, who sadly died in April, managed this tournament on a number of occasions and won it a number of times – sometimes both in the same year!
In his honour, the Yorkshire Croquet Federation has bought a new trophy, the Ted Flexman Cup, which will be awarded to the winner of the tournament each year. This year’s tournament will be played at Ripon Spa Croquet Club on Monday 13 July.
Ted was involved in croquet for many years, playing golf croquet at the Ripon Spa Croquet Club and Association Croquet at York CC. He was very competitive as well as competent. There is no doubt that, were Ted still with us, he would be playing to win it at Ripon Spa on Monday 13th July.
Places are still available in this tournament. For more information, see [link to page with tournament details and entry system] or contact Michael Franklin on mcfranklin28@gmail.com
Three players from Yorkshire clubs – Sheffield’s Ki Hulme and York’s Richard Lamborn and Cathie Dance – qualified from the Charity 1-ball heats for the northern Final at Bowdon on 17 May. The new venue for this year’s final did not disappoint either in the warmth of its welcome or the quality of its lawns … and the forecast rain largely held off to allow a day’s play in sunshine. After 5 rounds of play Richard qualified for the grand final versus John Bagnall of Bowdon, both players on 5 wins. Yorkshire prevailed as Richard won a close-fought and entertaining game, 13-10. Congratulations to Richard and thanks to all the northern finalists for making the day enjoyable and competitive.
Thanks also to all who played in club heats, raising a magnificent total of £8,135.25 for Save The Children. With Gift Aid an even more magnificent donation of £9,043.50!
A joint YCF comprised of members from Sheffield and Beverley & East Riding CC took part in the CqE National Short Croquet Inter-Club Competition, travelling to Nottingham Croquet Club to take on Nottingham A.
Nottingham were hosting another match the same day which allowed us to sample their club’s famous volunteer-provided catering.
Despite the excellent weather, lawn quality, and some strong individual performances, the team lost 7-4. A great day was had by all.
